After missing the first four games of this season because of a substance abuse
violation, and the fifth game because the Chiefs brass felt he wasn't ready,
Chiefs CB Eric Warfield started Friday night against Miami. For leagues that
must start a CB, Warfield has been a solid scorer throughout his career. Many
considered Warfield to be the best player in the secondary last year, which
admittedly might not be saying much. Warfield did not record any tackles or
stats on Sunday

After getting 5-2 tackles last week, I wrote that we should look for increasing
numbers from Dolphins LB Channing Crowder. He had 7-2 tackles Sunday in their
loss to the Chiefs

Miami strong safety Tebucky Jones had season-ending surgery to repair a torn
pectoral muscle. Before he left he had 1-3 tackles and a sack. After a career
year in New Orleans in 2004 where Jones had over 100 total tackles, Jones signed
with Miami. He was off to a strong start again this year and was again on pace
for over 100 tackles

The early word has Jones being replaced by Yeremiah Bell. Bell was a sixth
round pick by Miami in the 2003 NFL draft out of Eastern Kentucky. Bell was
tabbed as the starter at free safety in preseason before he was beaten out by
Lance Schulters. Some believe Bell is a more natural fit at free safety and
he is not the hardest hitter around, but they don't have a lot of current options

Vikings strong safety Corey Chavous is quietly having a solid season. One week
after 5-2 tackles and his first interception of the season, the cerebral Chavous
had 5-1 tackles in the Vikings come-from-behind win over Green Bay

Colts DE Robert Mathis continues to amaze. Despite playing mostly on passing
downs and special teams, he has been the top scoring DE in many IDP leagues.
Mathis had his eighth sack of the season, which leads the NFL, and has recorded
a sack in seven consecutive games, a team record. He also forced a fumble which
led to a 37 yard touchdown return by DT Monte Reagor

Imagine the kind of numbers Mathis might produce if he played more often

Veteran safety Jason Simmons replaced C.C. Brown in the starting lineup for
the Texans. The coaching staff believes they need more big plays from their
safeties. It was also said to be an injury move. Simmons didn't make a lot of
big plays, but he had 5-1 tackles. Brown owners should keep close tabs on this
situation

With LB Kailee Wong out for the season, Texans LB DaShon Polk had a team high
ten total tackles. Take a long look at Polk if he is still available in your
league

Rams safety Adam Archuleta has been a playmaker this season. In Sunday's win,
he had a pair of sacks and a recovered fumble to go with 6-1 tackles. He now
had 3.5 sacks and an interception for the season

When Redskins veteran DE Phillip Daniels recovered a fumble in the first half
in Sunday's rout of the 49ers, it was the first turnover the defense generated
since week one

Cleveland CB Gary Baxter was lost for the season with a torn pectoral muscle.
He is one of the better cover corners in the league and he will be missed by
the Browns. Look for Leigh Bodden to be his immediate replacement

The Detroit Lions lost two Pro Bowlers on defense to injury Sunday. CB Dre
Bly is out indefinitely because of a dislocated bone in his right wrist. It
might need surgery. And DT Shaun Rogers is week to week with a sprained right
MCL

Despite having only two sacks for the season, Bengals DE Justin Smith has been
a solid contributor for his IDP owners. The main reason is that Smith gets consistent
tackle numbers. He had 5-2 tackles Sunday in Cincy's loss to Pittsburgh

Redskins LB Lavar Arrington might be out of the doghouse now. Arrington, who
had not played a down on defense in the last three games, led the team with
7-2 tackles. He played a little bit in the first half, and whenever he entered
the game, the Redskins fans stood and cheered

Benching the three time Pro Bowler has caused plenty of controversy with the
rabid Redskin diehards. Some Redskin staff point to Arrington's recovery from
two knee surgeries in the last 13 months as being the reason for his recent
benching. Some league sources think it has something to do with Arrington's
reckless playing style. But most agree there's much more to the situation than
meets the eye

Arrington became a local fan favorite early on in his career with his ability
to register monster hits against the opposition. Arrington excelled both against
the run and against the pass. It was Arrington's clean hit that effectively
ended Troy Aikman's career. Between his abilities as a player and his charisma
and charm in dealing with the public, Arrington became a household name for
Redskin fans

The honeymoon began to end when Arrington clashed with new Defensive Coordinator
Marvin Lewis in 2002. Lewis felt that Arrington's role should be limited because
of his coverage liabilities. Lewis also told Sports Illustrated that Arrington
was the most undisciplined player he had ever coached. There was some scuttlebutt
that Arrington's reckless play even cost the team a few wins

Early in 2004, Arrington had a financial dispute with the team as it was believed
he was owned money from his previous extension. At the same time, Joe Gibbs
came along and hired ex-Bills Head Coach Gregg Williams as his defensive coordinator.
Williams uses a very disciplined form of defense, which is not exactly aligned
with the way Arrington plays

With the Redskins defense thriving in Arrington's absence during his recovery
from knee surgeries, Williams declared that for Arrington to play again he'd
better play more disciplined. The financial dispute grew and both parties were
seemingly unhappy with the other. It was finally settled in preseason of this
year, and Arrington did not receive any more money from the dispute

After playing some in the opener, Arrington barely saw the field the next two
games and his agent asked that he be able to shop Arrington to other teams.
The team denied the request. Arrington was listed as inactive for the next game.
He didn't play a down on defense the game after that. Arrington believed his
lack of play was retribution from owner Dan Snyder for the financial dispute.
Regardless, Arrington played Sunday, and played well. We'll see what the future
brings for Arrington in Washington. But if he continues to play as well as he
did Sunday, I'd think he sees the field more and more

Eagles MLB Jeremiah Trotter was named the NFL's Defensive Player of the Week
after getting 5-4 tackles, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble. After
a disappointing season in 2004 where Trotter did not play as many downs and
started to look a little old on the field, Trotter seems back on track and has
37 total tackles in the last four games

Arizona LB Karlos Dansby continues to put up very good numbers, especially
for a strong side safety. On Sunday, he had 11 total tackles, a sack and a forced
and recovered fumble. Dansby definitely has an impressive knack for being a
playmaker

In his previous 35 NFL games prior to this season, Titans DE Kyle Vanden Bosch
had four sacks. IN seven games this year, he has seven and a half sacks

Raiders DE Derrick Burgess is finally making a believer out of me. It only
took getting two sacks in each of the last three games. He now has seven for
the season. Coach Norm Turner gave much of the credit of Burgess' sacks to the
interior linemen, but you simply can't ignore what Burgess has done recently

Falcons LB Demorrio Williams is simply having a great season. On Sunday he
had 10-0 tackles and a sack. He's on pace for over 130 tackles for the season
and he has three sacks and an interception. If for some strange reason he's
still flying under the radar in your league, do what you can to get him